The Christmas Myth
by D-Money626
Summary: One Christmas Eve night dreams suddenly come true and peace envelopes the world, but the Doctor is the only one staying skeptical. This serves as the Christmas Special between a different Series 4 & 5. "Ho! Ho! Ho!"
1. It's a Wonderful World

Sometimes we forget how big our universe is and when we remember we shudder. Billions of stars are out there burning with more heat and energy then we could possibly imagine and around some of those stars revolves a couple misshapen round rocks; planets. On some of those planets there are life forms that call their little rock home.

Rose Marion Tyler used to call one such planet home, it's called Earth, and you might be familiar with it. Either that, or your some alien tapping into Earth's satellite network so you can read this. I doubt Rose cares either way.

Ms. Tyler had her place of work blown up by one of those aliens. That man has also saved the world countless time and most of us will never know his name. Those that have been privileged to meet his acquaintance refer to him only as the Doctor. Nobody has any idea what his real name is, even Rose. Anyone who ever did is now dead as the Doctor was responsible for destroying his home planet of Gailifrey and his fellow Time Lords to end the most brutal war of all time.

Anyway, Rose loves that bloke to death as much as he does she. In fact, after becoming separated she had a second chance and chose to leave her family behind in another universe which she can never revisit for the rest of her days. Sadly, those days will pale in comparison to the many more days the Doctor will live without her. However, after frustration by both parties the Time Lord decided to take a chance at a broken-hearted future and chose love for as long as they can be together.

The two of them travel the universe on the daily in a spaceship called the T.A.R.D.I.S., which stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. Yep, you guessed it, the ship, which is strangely shaped like a blue box, travels in time. Go figure…

Today is Christmas Eve though, and it is told that every year a fat jolly man dressed in red travels the world delivering presents to all the good boys and girls of the world. But, he doesn't exist, right? Right? It's just a story we tell our kids so they stop lying to us about breaking grandma's lamp or stealing candy bars from the store. Yet, we all secretly hope we are wrong and that science means absolutely nothing.

If you believe in something hard enough it will come true. Tonight is truly going to be a very merry Christmas…


	2. The Night it Came True

Amidst strewn colored lights, reefs, and a tree also adorned with lights the office buzzed with activity. Many of the workers in this office filed haphazardly into a conference room. The ten or so smartly dressed people quickly found their seats at a large square table with some them playing with their hand held devices while waiting.

The familiar banter was gone because this was more than just a routine meeting before leaving to be families on Christmas Eve. An air of nervousness clouded the room as they waited on the person that called the meeting.

Outside snow adorned the ground under the night sky lit up by more Christmas lights. It seemed like a perfectly normal Christmas Eve night, but the march-in by a fair haired man carrying a few manila folders was anything but. Silence enveloped the room upon his presence as they waited to hear what the man had to say. He shuffled a folder saying 'Project Manning' behind one saying 'Homeless Initiative C" and opened the blank one to reveal a newly printed paper.

The man was all business. "Merry Christmas Eve to all of you. I've called you all in to address some perplexing business just handed to me by the highest authority of the British Intelligence Committee."

One of men sighed with a hint of distaste. "Course something's wrong. Seems we can't have a Christmas without something strange or abnormal happening."

"Chancellor Stephens. Please keep your sarcasm to yourself. This is of the upmost important."

"My apologies, Prime Minister. Carry on."

The Prime Minister paused for a second deciding what were the words he needed to speak. It seemed that he himself was not believing what he was about to report. "Right. Ladies and gentlemen of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland I do digress, but we've discovered Santa Clause."

A women remarked, "But that's completely ludicrous! There's no Santa!"

The rest of the cabinet decided to also express their confusion and disbelief raising the noise level of the room to deafening level as the Prime Minister said, "Calm down. Calm down." When it didn't work he yelled, "I will have order!"

The room quieted down as all eyes and attention were back on him. "Yes, I agree this sounds completely fabricated and false, but let me show you something that will blow your minds completely."

The Prime Minister set the folder on the table and opened it revealing a pile of satellite images of the Earth, most notably the North Pole. "Pass these around and take a look at them yourself. This is no prank because I tell you these images have been passed through intense scrutiny and studied for manipulation since I received them only a few hours ago from Intelligence."

The group of people passed around the images staring completely dumbfounded at the verified satellite images each remarking their disbelief.

What they all expected to see was a pole revealing an almost frozen sea and nothing more. It was, after all, all they had ever known since being told that Santa Clause was only a myth. What greeted them was not only a large island centered on the North Pole the size of the Netherlands, but an outline of great lights seen from space at said spot. It was impossible, yet they all gazed upon the images convincing themselves that the new evidence was now challenging their long-held beliefs.

One of the men remarked. "All these years and there he was."

A women questioned, "But why now? Why, after centuries and centuries of carrying on a myth of existence does this man suddenly appear out of nowhere?"

Another man added, "What will we do with this. The public. Should we tell them?"

The Prime Minister grinned suddenly if not suspiciously. "We do nothing."

One of the women retorted. "We do nothing? Why, Prime Minister, you cannot be serious!"

"But I am Lady Nelling. The whole world is discovering this at the same time you see and pretty much every country is holding some type of cabinet or board meeting of its political elite. The public will find out, that I have no doubt, so we just let it happen."

Several of the board members responded in agreement while Lady Nelling retorted. "Do we know that this is not a threat?"

One of men remarked. "Lady Nelling. Listen to yourself!"

Nelling replied, "But I…" She then stopped suddenly catching her breathe before a joy seemed to permeate her features. "How completely wrong of me. Santa Clause is coming to town!"

The Prime Minister grinned. "This has to be the greatest day the Earth has ever seen. The most brilliant occurrence!" All skepticism and suspicion had completely left the room as all its patrons were filled with what could be described as Christmas cheer.

That night the snow began to fall on the first Christmas Eve that the Earth had ever seen where every living soul rejoiced in the knowledge of not just believing in Santa Clause, but knowing it as a fact. At that very moment a blue police public call box from the 1950's materialized on the seemingly impossible, but physically present, North Pole landmass…


	3. Reindeer Games

The Doctor opened the TARDIS' door unto a winter wonderland looking about in confusion having the mental ability to only mutter one word. "What?"

Rose replied from behind him all bundled up in a layered coat with the same expression. "Looks like Earth, but you said the North Pole."

"I did, Rose, and when the TARDIS scanners suddenly picked up activity from the North Pole I knew it was worth a gander."

Rose shut the TARDIS doors behind her. "Well… What's good for the goose is good for the gander."

"Did you know that I once met the most selfish gander in Australia. I tell you he actually stole a rare crystal from…"

She cut him off humorously. "Doctor, we're at the North Pole which shouldn't even exist and you want to tell me a story about a gander?"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck seemingly embarrassed. "Now that you say it like that… it does sound a little barmy."

Rose grinned. "You're just so sexy sometimes." She delighted in the fact that she could say things like that these days. After all, it had been a couple months since the Doctor had finally admitted his feeling although reluctantly. Rose knew that he was never going to be a bloke that admitted his feelings on any type of regular basis, but that was her Doctor and she wouldn't have it any other way. She no longer had to care that she was the only one to have admitted something. Now she could just call him sexy rather than hide her feelings when they came to her.

The Doctor cheekily retorted. "I am the Doctor after all." It was a strange feeling that she knew his feelings now. For the longest time he had talked himself out of revealing for fear of the future, but that had all changed when the time lines told him he was going to lose her for good. Still, that was the past and today was the present. The Doctor was going to let himself get attached to Rose and would pay for it later. It was a risk worth taking for her.

The Doctor reached out for Rose's hand as they walked together up a snow filled hill to get a better look at the surrounding area. Despite being on an impossible landmass the ground was hard like it had always been there and the snow was not impossibly thick. Something was off but neither the Doctor nor Rose could figure it out until they heard a shuffling of feet nearby drawing their attention.

Rose remarked, "That a reindeer?"

Sure enough before them stood an antler clad caribou animal. Its head was up with glaring eyes seemingly watching them.

The Doctor added with interest, "Oh, this just keeps getting better!"

They walked over to the animal that surprisingly let them approach. Rose soothingly addressed it. "It's ok. We won't hurt ya. My name's Rose and this is the Doctor."

The reindeer's head pulled away briefly in a small bit of fear as she reached out to pet the animal. "Shhhh… It's alright."

The Doctor stared at Rose petting the animal with a little bit of peeked interest before sharing his thoughts. "Quite interesting. The reindeer acts a bit like a pet showing little natural fear. To have a response like that it'd need a master to have trained it. Only one figure is said to have owned reindeers… nah couldn't be!"

Rose removed her hand from the animal. "Will you show us where you live little guy?"

The reindeer looked back at her before turning towards the left and began walking away. Rose motioned to the Doctor, "I think he wants us to follow him."

The time travelers followed the reindeer up and over another hill before coming up on more reindeers grazing by digging through the snow to find grass. How grass could grow in these environments was perplexing the Doctor to say the least. The biology just didn't add up as he was starting to run out of impossible things to list. And then they both saw the most impossible thing that either of them had ever seen in their lives, and given the Doctor's large quantity of them it definitely said something.

Before the Doctor and Rose's eyes a lit-up town loomed large below the hill they were standing on. The reindeer continued to trot on but the time travelers stopped with their eyes lighting up in wonder. The town was buzzing with people; only they weren't people at all. The creatures were short with pointy ears and all of them sported red slinky caps. Rose was the first to say something as she turned to the Doctor in bewilderment. "Elves?"

"This is utterly. No, that's beyond impossible!"

Rose beamed. "Impossible, yet, here we are at the North Pole and in front of what looks identical to Santa's Village." It just seemed so barmy even compared to all the crazy and weird things she'd seen throughout the stars. Even so, Rose was very intrigued concerning the sight before them.

The Doctor trembled a little as he turned to his companion. "Rose?"

Rose stared out at the Christmas light strewn village picking up on the Doctor's tone with a fearful, "Yeah?"

With a sound of warning he replied, "This is wrong. It's just a…"

The Doctor's voice trailed off as they both noticed in the town a round and red coated impossible figure flanked by elves while walking out of a building. The jolly grin that he sported said it all; that was Santa Clause and this was Santa's Workshop…


	4. Santa's Village

The Doctor and Rose trudged down the snowy hill into the impossible reality of Santa's village. While the Doctor remained the constant skeptic, Rose was flowering with optimism. Maybe this Santa or mistaken identity of one was a good thing. Just like any kid, her mum had told her long ago that the big jolly guy in the red suit had delivered them presents every Christmas even in the years presents were hard to come by. Still, she couldn't help suggesting out loud, "Maybe, it's not so bad, Doctor."

"I thought we've been taking the same trips, Rose. It's the end of the world every week lately."

Rose sighed. "You and your pessimism. Sure, you remember all the times one of us fights for our lives, but what about the time we went back to New Earth, the time we met the Beatles in the 60's and rode the Yellow Submarine, or the time you took me to that pleasure planet. What was it called… oh… Outpost 33, was it? I swear you only remember the bad stuff like this is some kind of television show."

The Doctor was just about to retort his companion's opinion and raised his finger before they came face-to-face with what could only be described as Santa Clause. The man smiled invitingly at them breaking their conversation or argument by saying, "Doctor! Rose! So glad to welcome you to the North Pole!"

The Doctor eyed the man suspiciously. "Sorry, have we met?"

Santa laughed. "Ho! Ho! Ho! Surely you recognize me?"

Rose reached her arm out to which the portly man in the suit shook. "Forgive my companion here. He can be a bit rude."

"Nonsense, Rose. It's only natural that the Doctor be skeptical of me. Not you though."

"Well, I…" She suddenly stopped as she gazed at Santa's eyes for a moment. "How's a girl supposed to act when they finally see Santa?"

"Smile. Laugh. I like those things."

Again, the Doctor was hit with a wave of wrongness to the situation. Rose's tone had suddenly changed from an optimistic but rational perspective to one in total belief. Of course, he couldn't discern just yet if this was an act or not. It wouldn't have been the first time after all.

Rose elaborated, "I just… I thought that maybe there would be more people here is all."

Santa grinned as he commented, "Yeah, I kind of thought the same would be true as well. But what do I know? Why don't you two come with me inside where it's warm?"

Santa led the Doctor and Rose to a building and opened up its big red doors to an inside full of noise. As they walked in, machinery filled their vision from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Working the machines, while frantically moving around, were shorter people with pointy ears under pointed green caps. It certainly looked and felt like they were in Santa's workshop.

The Doctor took in the site, but one of the elves had particularly caught his attention. At closer look it seemed to have long hair and feminine eyes, and was a shade of possibly light green skin. A human would think that this person was sick, but the out of place elf suddenly locked eyes with him. In being caught staring, the Doctor suddenly turned his head back to Santa and Rose hastily. When he turned back she or it was gone; strange.

Santa's words brought him out of his reverie. "It's why you travel, isn't it, Doctor? Always flirting with the unknown. Really makes you think."

"Huh?" The Doctor was unsure of the context after having been distracted.

Rose was mesmerized. "It's really something, Santa."

The Doctor grinned. "Takes a lot to fool me, but I think I'm coming around." Whatever the wrong feeling dealing with the timelines behind this village felt before was, it seemed to be dissipating in the Doctor's mind.

Santa Clause called out to his elves. "Splendid work! Splendid work!"

With an ever increasing speed the machines spat out only the most furnished and polished toys. For a minute the three of them watched as things such as baseball bats and Barbies were produced and then wrapped right next to much more contemporary items such as gaming devices and mp3 players.

"You two must be winded and cold from out there. Follow me to my study, will ya?" Santa motioned for the Doctor and Rose to follow which they did.

The Doctor slowed slightly letting Santa and Rose lead the way as they entered a lit room showing books as far as the eye could see. He took one more good look and grinned as he saw Santa's workshop like it was a work of art.

The distracted Doctor didn't see the person behind him as he felt a large blow to the back of his head. The Time Lord turned around but was already woosey from the impact as he struggled to say, Whaaaa…," before falling to the ground. The last thing the Doctor noticed was a pair of legs as arms grabbed his lifeless body before blacking out...


	5. The Christmas Present

The haze began to clear as the Doctor found himself sprawled out in a bed that was way too small for him with his legs dangling over the edge. A body seemed to watch him but he couldn't yet discern it's features.

"What's go…" A finger suddenly was on the Time Lord's lips stopping him.

With much more of a hushed tone a strange female voice warned, "Quiet. You can't let them hear us."

The female removed her finger as the Doctor's visual haze began to clear. He'd seen this woman before. She was the strange elf he had spotted and had then just as quickly disappeared back in Santa's workshop. Her skin looked a slightly darker green up close with her velvet black hair cascading down in front of him. Any human would find her quite revolting, but to the Doctor this "elf" was quite pretty. Not as pretty as you know who, but still a good little vision to wake up to. Unfortunately this femme fatale was apparently the one that had likely assaulted him for some reason. With a hushed voice the Doctor asked, "Why did you hit me?"

"In the workshop. You looked at me like I didn't belong. You can see me, can't you?"

"You're a female elf. Elf's are supposed to be male."

She lightened up at that quietly exclaiming, "You can see me then! You're not like the others, are you? What color is my skin?"

"Green. Or I guess you can say an almost foresty green. Even smell quite piney."

"You're not from here, are you. You're one of them travelers."

Realization hit the the Doctor's consciousness. "And you are quite far from home yourself. Reginalder."

"Sorry?"

Somehow having the opportunity to explain something put color back in the Doctor's consciousness as he got up to sit on the bed. "Right, that's the human term given for your people in the twenty sixth century when a guy named Reginald leads a team of…" When the Doctor noticed the woman wasn't following he added, "Sorry, I tend to ramble. Rose tells me that all the time, specifically when it's time to discuss where we… Doing it again, right. What do you mean you're surprised I can see you?"

"Because you're not supposed to. You see, our people used to be just like these…" The Reginalder's voice trailed off as she didn't know what to call the people inhabiting the planet they were on.

"Humans."

"…These… humans. The Reginalder sighed defeatedly. "But then he came. We thought our great God Justalini had descended to our planet all of a sudden, but, oh, how we were wrong! We believed he was going to bring us fifty years of peace, and no matter how skeptical any of us got nobody ever followed through. We blindly fell in faith and are his forever. The only way that I'm even aware of my past life is that I mentally focus every day that what I'm living is nothing but a mirage. Hard as I may fight it… part of me still believes me is Justalini. It's impossible not to and he's doing it again and I don't care who these creatures are, nobody deserves this!"

"Santa Claus is a story told to mostly human child of this planet, of all different types of religions. Sometimes the parents don't tell them, but their culture will. Using a seed like that and abusing it with over six billion people… the power of that kind of belief is astronomical."

"We have to stop him."

The Doctor stood up. "I've saved this planet too may times to let this happen. Miss, my name's the Doctor, and we're going to save the human race, together!"

"Got a plan, then?"

"Nope!" The Doctor exuded confidence.

"You have no idea what you are up against, Doctor."

In Santa's study Rose sat down taking in a room of books. She couldn't believe it. The tale told to her and every child growing up on her planet really was a living being. Rose may have been optimistic before, but now she began to almost feel a sense of inner joy around the man in the big red suit. Yet, something just didn't feel right. "Where's the Doctor?"

Santa peeked back into the workshop. "Gone missing I suppose. We both know how he is around machinery and gadgets." A smile curved on the man's lips.

Rose laughed because she knew all too well. "Always says I'm the trouble magnet."

Santa laughed. "Ho Ho Ho! How wrong he is!" The big guy in the red suit sat down with a grunt. "Tell you what, Rose, why don't you come over here and tell me what you really want for Christmas."

A wave of regret crept over her joyful face. "If you know me than you know exactly what that is."

Santa nodded in agreement. "I could return them to you, ya know? The whole great big Tyler family together again. You could see your mum whenever you chose."

Rose brightened at that as she found a seat on a plush couch. Her perfect scenario and as crazy as it sounded she believed every word of it. For the past year she'd kept her sadness at bay over not being able to see her mother ever again because she had the Doctor, but what good was love without family? Wherever Santa Claus had been for all these years she could never be sure. The main point was that he'd come just when she needed him the most. Just like the Doctor.

Rose rubbed her eyes. Shapes and colors were suddenly changing before her eyes. The rows and rows of books suddenly disappeared now looking like wallpapered walls. A Christmas tree materialized in the middle of the room and then there was Santa. Only he wasn't Santa anymore. Not in the slightest. Rose's eyes met with the new, yet very familiar, pair of eyes on a face she had known all her life. It was her mum…

Rose's mother beamed at her with the most reassuring smile. "Rose, you're finally home luv."

"But… but… you can't be. Mum?"

Rose's mum nodded sympathetically.

Something still nagged at Rose's heart that something was very wrong about all of this, but she didn't want to believe it anymore. This really was a dream come true and the universe had finally decided to be kind. Rose felt like a kid again and immediately ran to the mother she had once lost hugging her senseless…


	6. Do You See What I See?

The Doctor walked outside into the cold of Santa's village furious. Whatever this thing was he'd stop it just like anything else he'd ever encountered that threatened this planet. It was his second home and he would never let any force take it away from him. He was also walking very fast, almost too fast away from the following female.

The Doctor still didn't know if he could trust her and his senses were even more unclear. What was real and what wasn't? The Doctor turned around defensively and asked, "Reginalder. I never caught your name."

The sight he saw was different than he expected. The green creature that had looked to be an elf suddenly wasn't either of those things. In fact, the air wasn't even cold anymore. The creature's face and body had changed and were now very familiar to him, painfully familiar to him

The Doctor couldn't believe it. He was almost outraged as he stopped and shouted at the creature. "This is impossible. No, this is a game. You're playing with my mind, my memories, aren't you?"

Snowy grounds and lit up buildings all seemed to fizzle and change slowly around the Doctor. The air began to get warm as the skies darkened to a reddish orange color. Trees began to fill the Doctor's eyes of silver and the woman standing before him wore a large headdress. It was red. This was completely ludicrous. The Doctor was seeing and experiencing Gailifrey again.

The woman that he seemed to now recognize remained quiet as the Doctor fought what he was sensing. It was a woman long gone. "But don't you see? I destroyed this all. Me! I'm responsible!" He gestured at their surroundings. "So none of this can be real!"

The woman shook her head as her voice took on a new tone that was different from before, a voice he hadn't heard for several lifetimes. "Is this really all that bad?"

The Doctor's guard began to drop. "What do you mean?"

"What are we to say what is a lie in our lives? Maybe all these years you are the one that's been living the lie, Doctor. You've been searching for years upon years for home regretting one day and one action for oh so long. You ever think that maybe, just maybe, the universe had other plans for you."

"But you can't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but you're dead. I killed you. I killed all of them." Tears threatened to come but the Doctor fought it.

"Oh, Doctor." The woman came over laying a hand on the Doctor's face with a knowing love. "Dear, sweet, Doctor, the universe had other plans for once." She smiled for him. "Embrace me like the last time we saw each other. Accept the strange, the unexplained, just for once."

"And Rose… what becomes of her?"

"Are you asking me if it's ok, if I approve?" The Doctor nodded in affirmation. "Thank you then. You believe me, don't you?" The Doctor stared wordlessly waiting on an answer as the woman reached to hug him. "I don't care that she's human when I can see that she's good for you."

The Doctor relaxed and smiled as he embraced her. The world around him didn't make sense but this woman of his past understood his relationship with Rose and didn't judge him. If she was really real his worst fears of being judged for who his feelings had fallen for were never worth the regret he sometimes felt. This is what bliss felt like. Finally the universe had given him a break. "That's… that's good."

As they parted the women pointed to the right of them as Rose was exiting a building apparently with her mother. "Is that her?"

The Doctor nodded with a grin.

"Doctor, you never told me your planet was so beautiful," the blonde woman exclaimed. Rose's mother seemed to be calm which was a shocker to the Doctor. In fact, she seemed rather out of character being there walking the Gailifrey scene with Rose. Was he supposed to be remembering something?

Rose's mother seemed to bellow on cue, "Fat lot of good you are, Doctor. I didn't ask to come out here to wherever this strange alien world is. All of a sudden here I am in my home enjoying myself getting ready to watch Eastenders and then I find myself on Mars." Same old Jackie then, the Doctor smiled.

"Mum! We're not on Mars. This is the Doctor's home."

"Might as well be. All strange and alien is this place. Honestly, Rose couldn't you have found a much more normal boyfriend?"

The Doctor just laughed at all the absurdity. That was definitely Rose's mum exactly as he remembered her. "Why does everyone always assume I took them to Mars. I look nothing like a Martian. Rose, I've shown you Martians. Don't you agree?"

By this time Rose and her mum were standing near the Doctor and the familiar woman. Rose humorously looked her companion up and down seemingly appraising him before laughing. "Can't say I see the difference."

The Doctor shook his head. If she wasn't grinning just now he would have been downright offended. Of course, any feelings on the issue felt overshadowed by the disbelief of their situation. The Doctor still couldn't believe that Gailifrey was back and Rose was here to share it with him. This was even better than his dreams. It felt like the best of both worlds. Which reminded him about the woman standing near him. "Rose, Jackie, have you met my… Well, I guess you could say, my friend, here?"

Rose and Jackie stared at him confused as Rose added, "Nobody is there, Doctor."

The Time Lord turned shocked as he turned toward the woman. She was still standing there quietly gazing at him. "No she's right here. Go on, tell them."

Rose came over and put her hand on the Doctor's shoulder concerned. "Are you, ok?"

"Course, I'm ok, Rose." The Doctor motioned to his left where the standing woman stood. "She is right here, right now."

The Doctor stepped away from Rose as she didn't know what to say, but what followed surprised even the Doctor.

Finally, the woman spoke. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Doctor."

The Doctor couldn't help it as the familiar woman grabbed a hold of his arm and then proceeded to incredulously bite it. "Ow!" The action sent a wave a pain through the Time Lord's body as the world as he knew it began to fade away around him…


	7. Fighting Against Dreams

Top of Form

The strange woman's bite made everything the Doctor saw and felt suddenly shift. It was cold again and the woman had the green skin of a Reginalder like before the scene had changed to Gailifrey. Rose and Jackie were nowhere to be found, but instead, the Doctor & the Reginalder appeared to be standing on an ice sheath. Any vision of Santa's Village wasn't visible either. In short, it was the scenery the Doctor had expected when he had exited the TARDIS earlier before it was completely impossible sans Rose. He thought about all this as the woman's bite made him almost cry from the pain.

As soon as the woman released her mouth, leaving a bit mark a vampire would be proud of, the scene began to faze back to the red of Gailifrey. The female quickly pinched him returning the harsh cold reality of the North Pole. "Ow!"

"Pain. In this case pain is good. Pain is how you can fight it, Doctor."

"At least let me pinch myself."

The woman nodded as she released and the Doctor pinched his own arm. "Ow! That bloody hurts!"

"You've experienced its power now. Even Rose is at its mercy. That's why she didn't translate."

"The whole bloody world is powering this being. It's the only way it could have penetrated my psychic walls."

"Don't you see? That's why you have to go, Doctor. Save yourself because this one's lost. Do you understand how much strength it takes me every damn day to still be aware?"

The Doctor was silent still holding the pinch on his arm and squeezing a little harder to intensify the pain. The funny thing was the pain was the furthest thing from his mind. "I'm going to have to do it."

"Do what?"

The Doctor pointed with his other arm at the blue phone box that he knew as the TARDIS sitting near them. "Correction, she will!"

The Time Lord let go of his arm and started running like no abandon toward his ship. As long as he stayed focused the being that had assaulted his hopes and dreams wouldn't effect him.

The woman looked on with a mix of relief and dread. She suddenly knew what the Doctor was going to do and she also knew that this would be the last time she'd probably ever see him. Defeat the being causing all the madness and she'd die with it. The Reginalder yelled so the Doctor would hear her, "My name is Charone."

The Doctor threw open the doors of his ship knowing that time was of the essence. Over 6 billion people were powering this evil life source and by the minute their beliefs made it stronger. Worse still, Rose, was worse off. Part of him thought that it might already be too late. While all the bloody humans on this planet were dreaming of Santa Clause, Rose was struggling with the love she only held for her mother. The Doctor had to be drastic, so with a strong and determined stance he laid his hands on the console urging it with an almost battle cry, "Show me what you can do, old girl!"

The Time Lord madly threw switches and levers and then it happened. The TARDIS engines screamed and pulsated as the ground below him began to shake madly, but it wasn't the ship that was shaking. The Earth itself began to tremble. The Doctor laughed with glee as the entire planet Earth experienced its first and only full planetary earthquake in its history.

All over the planet people's dreams and fantasies of Santa Clause suddenly began to cloud as they quickly feared for their lives instead. In houses all over the world things fell off of dressers, plates fell out of cabinets, and Christmas trees fell down to the ground. It was horrifying, but just as quick as it had all started, it ended just as bluntly.

As people all over the planet Earth rose slowly from their crouched positions they noticed the blue sky's above. The scene outside their homes looked more beautiful than ever before. All over the planet, Christmas had come and the biggest gift was that normalcy was all they had ever needed.

At the North Pole, the Doctor rushed out of the TARDIS as soon as the shaking stopped to see Rose. As soon as he left it's doors he realized with a deep sadness that she was nowhere to be found. The whole planet was saved, but Rose was still lost.

The Time Lord shook his head. No, not after all he had been through was he going to let this thing take the woman he loved. All of the souls of the planet Earth to the tune of 6 billion being severed meant that the being that he had been fighting all along was already starting to die along wither everyone trapped by it.

The Doctor closed his eyes and he dreamed. He dreamed and wished as hard as he possibly could about citadels, red headdresses, and silvery leafs. The Doctor dreamed that the Time War never happened and he wasn't responsible for the erasure of his own people from time and space. To even think such things it hurt the Doctor so much, but the Time Lord focused as hard as he could that it had all been real and when he opened his eyes he was back on his planet once again.

Charone grinned at him with an all knowing look. Rose was near talking with her 'mum.' Fear hadn't saved Rose because she was in too deep. Her dream had consumed her heart.

Rose's mum stared at him with a seething anger. "You could have just run away."

The Doctor met her gaze with a no funny business attitude. "When you looked in my head, when you used my dreams and desires for your vile purpose, what did you see?"

"For such a high and mighty being you know nothing. You haven't even begun to understand the universe yet."

"Then why are you so afraid of me?"

"I'm dying." Rose's mum teetered and Rose caught her.

Tears began to leak in Rose's eyes. "Mum don't."

"Rose, she's not your mum. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but she's not."

Rose's mum weakly taunted. "If you take Rose away from me you'll kill me. Her faith is the only thing keeping me going."

The Doctor said nothing as he made his way over to his companion and grabbed her roughly, startling her in the process. The Time Lord leaned in and snogged her brains out. Around them the world once again shifted leaving Gailifrey behind and leaving them on the cold ice caps of the North Pole.

Rose pulled away after having enjoyed the kiss looking around quickly asking, "Where's…"

The Doctor grimly looked at her. "It's all gone." He was right. Whatever the consciousness was that fed off the dreams and beliefs of the whole world, he had killed it by severing Rose from its consciousness. Charone and all the Reginalders that had been long sensed trapped went with it. All those souls never to be heard from again.

The Doctor smiled briefly. "Charone."

Rose nodded not knowing exactly what he meant by that, but understanding the tone completely. She reached her arms around her companion and soon they both were hugging. No more dreams and what ifs, just the two of them here and now. Neither wanted it any other way, demons in their past or not.

Bottom of Form


	8. New Perspective

The Doctor closed the warm TARDIS doors behind them as Rose mentioned, "Bit cold out there."

"It was the North pole after all."

Rose sat down on the steps leading up to the console. "What was that thing though, Doctor?"

The Doctor joined her sitting down next to his companion and shook his head. "Don't know. I met something new today. Still not sure what it was."

"900 years, huh? And you still get stumped? I would have thought that eventually, ya know, that you learn it all."

"Well, more or less, but…" The Doctor leaned over looking into Rose's eyes. "Let me tell you something about the universe, Rose." She nodded for him to continue. The Doctor sighed. "I've met parasites that live in the dark and swarm over flesh in seconds, ran from a three-headed and two hundred pound carnivore, and lost a chess game to a quasar, but today has left me questioning what I know about it all. You see, the more you learn and experience the less sense it all makes. My advice to you, Rose Tyler, is to never get in too deep because you will forget about what makes you, you. Don't ever forget that, Rose. It's what makes you beautiful."

With a sense of regret Rose answered, "Too late for that, Doctor."

The Doctor grabbed her hand. "You can get off whenever you want."

"I could." Rose suddenly began to grin as she almost sung, "But you would miss me too much."

"Would I?" The Doctor's effort at playfully an indifferent attitude was not fooled by his companion.

"You'd be a horrible wreck, you would. Your whole time sense would be off without me to keep it in check."

The Doctor released her hand to motion with his finger in defense. "I'll have you know that my sense of time could not be affected by something so…"

"Domestic?" Rose blurted before giggling as the Doctor tried to answer but failed humorlessly. "Got you speechless." She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Doctor."

He watched Rose get up and walk back into the TARDIS staring after his companion. It was a far cry from his last Christmas aboard a Titanic replica ship which he saved with Martha from crashing into the Earth. It was where he met Astrid which he had fallen for because she had reminded him of Rose. She died saving the day. Well, actually she was reduced to particles and still lives on somewhere in the universe, but physically she died. Beside the point, the Doctor saw the parallels with Rose. His companion had no one else in her life and she had told him that she wouldn't have it any other way. They had confessed their love for each other a couple months previous and it was clear that Rose was never going to leave.

Ever since the Doctor had known Rose he worried that this companion he honestly felt a connection with would leave him. She would either long for a normal life, be trapped again like she temporarily was, or die. For the first time ever in this or his previous body he feared the alternative. What if he was the one to die?

There were a few things that could permanently kill a Time Lord that would not allow the time for regeneration to save him. What would happen to the TARDIS then? To Rose? It seemed the answer had been staring at him the whole time.

The Doctor noticed a piece of paper lying on the floor containing a diagram he had drawn to teach Rose in her latest TARDIS flying lesson. She had proven a very apt student and was progressing rather nicely if he should say so himself. Still, she had a long ways to go before she could even help pilot his magnificent ship, let alone take the lead.

To better keep her alive or prepare her should the unthinkable happen to himself, perhaps, it was time to finally really tell her about this life and how to live it. Apparently, ignorance really wasn't bliss after all. It was time he embraced her ability to learn and change.

Rose was already becoming like him faster every day than he was realizing, so it would be best of him to speed up the process. The Doctor's instincts disagreed that this was indeed a bad idea. The same instincts had told him for five or six years that he should have never opened his heart to her, yet he had recently.

It was a dark universe out there full of beings even more dangerous than what he and Rose had survived today. She was ready and so was he for whatever was going to be thrown at them.

Merry Christmas, indeed. "Ho! Ho! Ho!" The Doctor laughed out loud before getting up and running into the deeper parts of the TARDIS to find his companion while the console dimmed as he left the room.

-

Coming Soon: Series 5, starring new companion, Andrew, and featuring episodes set in modern L.A., a futuristic underwater city named Atlantis, 1950's Hollywood, the Greek Olympic Games, the origin of the Time Agency, Ancient China, Transylvania, a deserted island, and more!

Catch up on past episodes of the alternate Series 4 where Rose re-united with the Doctor and traveled with on-going companion, Martha, to the edge of the Solar System, the California Gold Rush, the Middle Ages, the 1970's, the alien planet Sirius, Venice, The New Roman Empire, and more!


End file.
